Running head: REV. THOMAS BRAY AND PARISH LIBRARIES 1

Rev. Thomas Bray and Parish Libraries in the American South: Philosophy, Theology and

Practical Application

René Radusky

San José State University

REV. THOMAS BRAY AND PARISH LIBRARIES 2

Abstract

The example of Bray libraries provides the opportunity to understand how libraries evolve as expressions of a particular culture, and how the story of an institution is both reflective of–and embedded in–larger history related to geography. Rev. Thomas Bray was an English Anglican missionary who devoted his life to establishing parish libraries for ministerial use in England,

Wales and the American colonies. His combination of missionary zeal and utilitarian view of practical knowledge found fertile cultural ground in the American southern colonies, where ministers needed books in order to spread the Gospel and a gentry class welcomed texts that would serve a rising professional class. He founded two missionary societies, charged in part to raise funds for new libraries and existing collections in the New World. Through this work, he influenced the first laws governing libraries on both sides of the Atlantic. One of his greatest achievements related to missionary work was the establishment of provincial libraries regulated by colonial state assemblies, and in part funded by provincial government. Bray’s libraries did not survive his death. In the end he was a foreigner using the resources of a colonial power to further an agenda, and was never able to provide for an infrastructure that would have given the colonists themselves a more vested interest in maintaining his vision.

Keywords: Rev Thomas Bray, parish libraries, parochial libraries

REV. THOMAS BRAY AND PARISH LIBRARIES 3

Introduction

Rev. Thomas Bray was a 17th century British Anglican clergyman and missionary who is best known for founding parish libraries in England, Wales and the American colonies. He was highly successful in the American colonies of the south, leaving a particularly strong imprint on provincial . His evangelizing spirit led him to believe ministers needed to have a substantial amount of appropriate texts in order to spread the Gospel. His practical side viewed books as an incentive to convince struggling English ministers to leave the comforts of home for lands unknown. Although he only spent six months on colonial soil, he dedicated his life to establishing and collecting books for provincial, parish and layman’s libraries up and down the

Atlantic coast.

His work in the colonial south had deep roots in England, and the diversity represented in his colonial libraries was reflected in the libraries of his home country. Not surprisingly, his work was replicated through larger colonial efforts in Canada, the Caribbean and England.

In addition to being a theological missionary, Rev. Bray was a practical man–a student of utilitarian theories of knowledge who considered learning for the sake of practical endeavor or leisurely gain, work pleasing to God. His theological and practical grounding found favor in the

American colonial south, where Anglican settlers had little anti-British sentiment and were accustomed to having access to books for professional development and recreational use. As a product of English society, Bray understood the southern gentry as a reflection of the English gentleman, and was comfortable with stocking libraries for use by a rising professional class.

Rev. Bray is well known for founding two missionary societies dedicated to spreading the gospel, in part through founding libraries and stocking existing collections. The Society for the

Promotion of Christian Knowledge was established shortly before Bray’s passage to Maryland in REV. THOMAS BRAY AND PARISH LIBRARIES 4

1700, and formalized some of the work he was already doing in England and the colonies. When

Bray returned to England after his 6-month stay in Maryland he founded a voluntary association concentrating on missionary efforts in the New World, the Society for the Propagation of the

Gospel in Foreign Lands. These associations had wide impact on both sides of the Atlantic.

They set the stage for the passage of the 1709 Parochial Libraries Act in England, which provided state control over ministerial collections, and widely influenced the establishment of the first laws overseeing libraries of the colonies.

Studying Rev. Bray and his parish libraries provides particular insight into how the development of libraries can reflect on the larger history of the American colonial south. It provides the opportunity to understand how institutions evolve as expressions of particular cultures–how they are both embedded in these cultures and reflective of them. Bray’s libraries did not survive his death. They never took hold in the imagination of the settlers themselves, remaining somewhat of a foreign transplant overseen by a colonial mentality designed to further a particular agenda. A sense of transfer of ownership never occurred, despite the usefulness of the institutions, and welcome Rev. Bray’s work received.

Background

Rev. Thomas Bray was born in Marton, in 1658, and died in on

February 15, 1730. He graduated from All Souls College, Oxford in 1678 and took a Master of

Arts degree in 1693 from Hart Hall. After his ordination as a deacon in 1681, his preaching and writing skills brought him to the attention of the Anglican clerical hierarchy. His own writings show evidence that as early as 1695, he was involved in efforts to found libraries and supply books to existing collections in Maryland. By 1696, , appointed Bray as commissary for Maryland, supervisor of all clerical endeavors in the province. REV. THOMAS BRAY AND PARISH LIBRARIES 5

At the time of his appointment he did not know when he would travel to the New World, or how long he would remain there.

Between 1696 and his departure for Maryland on January 1, 1700, Bray worked tirelessly on two projects: raising money to found and supply books to parish missionary libraries in the colonies, England and Wales, and interviewing candidates for appointment as missionary clergy.

He was highly successful at the first task, but the second proved more difficult. He found that only destitute and less influential clergy were interested in making the difficult voyage–men who could most certainly never afford books. It was then that he realized that the haphazard fundraising methods that supplied collections to libraries at home and abroad–while successful– needed more structure. Thus was born the voluntary association known as the Society for the

Promotion of Christian Knowledge. He returned to London on July 25, 1700 believing he could do more good from a base in England but assuming he would return at some point. He became too involved with projects at home, and never set foot on colonial soil again (Laugher, 1973).

Upon his return to England, Bray continued his missionary work and emphasis on libraries, most specifically by founding the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign

Lands, which emphasized missionary work in the colonies. He maintained particularly close ties with Anglican missionaries based in Maryland, urging them to continue their work and following up with them on suggestions based on personal visitations he did during his six month stay

(McCulloch, 1945a). He wrote prolifically, preached and devoted time and energy to the religious education of the youth in the parish he was assigned to. He was quite ill during the last seven years of his life, and his writings show evidence of a loss of enthusiasm for his libraries.

REV. THOMAS BRAY AND PARISH LIBRARIES 6

Historical Context: Parochial Libraries of England and Wales

In the colonies, Rev. Bray was responsible for establishing and collecting books for five provincial libraries, 38 parochial libraries, and 37 layman’s libraries. While the terms provincial library, parochial library, and layman’s library have accepted definitions, there was overlap in the functioning of each type of collection, and some confusion in the historical writings over their labeling. In short, provincial libraries are what were considered to be the first public libraries of the American colonial provinces. Parochial libraries were designed for personal ministerial use, although in some cases books were circulated and the collections contained books not entirely religious in nature. Parochial libraries are also referred to as parish libraries.

Layman’s libraries, also known as lending libraries, were more specifically designed to be collections of practical books and tracts that while under the jurisdiction of a minister, were meant to serve members of his congregation (Laugher, 1973). These three types of libraries worked together to make books available to tens of thousands of colonists, tiding readers over until social libraries became the norm–all the while hastening the advent of public libraries.

The story of colonial libraries of the American south is strongly rooted in the history of

17th century Europe, where Rev. Bray founded more than 61 parish libraries in England and

Wales (Smith & Todd, 1808). The diversity represented in the colonial Bray libraries, and their overlap in functions are representative of–and can in part be attributed to–the historical individuality of English parish libraries. English parish libraries were a diverse lot “as these libraries can differ significantly in their provenance, their proposed and actual use, and their subsequent governance” (Gray & Baggs, 2000, p. 430). Parish libraries were many things in 17th century England. Some were for clergy use only. Others could be accessed by parishioners, but with no lending privileges. Some lent books to parishioners, but not members of the community. REV. THOMAS BRAY AND PARISH LIBRARIES 7

Other libraries lent to all. Some were founded as private, individual libraries with no intention of serving parishes, yet did so later by bequest.

All this was going on in England alongside the development of what could be considered a radical institution: the book club. Book clubs were small gatherings of clergy and gentlemen who pooled financial resources together for the purposes of acquiring small collections for reading and discussion. According to Manley (1999), the new concepts of freedom of choice and mutual benefit in library service made the establishment of books clubs possible. Before the

17th century the idea of groups meeting in private to discuss books was considered heretical.

Yet, the Society for Promotion of Christian Knowledge, established by Rev. Thomas Bray himself in 1699 encouraged the founding of book clubs–so much so, that in 1710 the society outlined model rules for managing clubs, under the direct auspices of local clergy.

In the history of English parish libraries, and the story of the establishment of book clubs, are a number of themes that were replicated in the establishment of Bray libraries on colonial soil. These include: 1) diversity in ownership of libraries, proposed vs. actual use, and ultimate governance; 2) ideas of mutual benefit, where congregants and members of the community could access non-clerical tracts in pursuit of personal and practical goals; and, 3) broad-based rules for administration of institutions, under local clerical control.

Historical Context: Larger Colonial Efforts

The story of these southern libraries parallels the history of colonialism, as Rev. Bray also founded libraries in places as far and distant from each other as Newfoundland, Antigua and what is present-day Calcutta. Little is known about the libraries he founded in Antigua, except there is evidence he took the work there seriously (Frohnsdorff, 2003), providing books and other materials valued at 110 English pounds to the parochial libraries. He approached the REV. THOMAS BRAY AND PARISH LIBRARIES 8 establishment of libraries in the West Indies in a manner similar to those in the American south, and made funding in Antigua a priority because he thought it an incentive to attract clergy to what was considered a remote locale. Much like in the colonial south, while the books were an incentive to bring clergy to the island, he fully expected books to circulate to others in the community and provided books of a secular nature.

There is some confusion related to whether books sent to a settlement in present-day

Calcutta in 1699 were funded directed through Rev. Bray’s efforts, but this much is known: the

Anglican chaplain sent there in 1710 was a member of the Society for the Promotion of Christian

Knowledge, one of the two missionary organizations established by Bray and charged with establishing libraries for use by clergy and parishioners (Kabir, 1979).

The New England Puritan and The Southern Gentleman

In many ways, the colonies of New England and those of the south had little in common.

They produced libraries that were decidedly different from each other in nature, and understanding the character of the libraries of each part of the country offers a glimpse into the larger culture of those places, at that time.

New England was settled with a fundamentally anti-British sentiment and no nostalgia for the reproduction of English life–including characteristics associated with a gentry class interested in acquiring knowledge for practical ends and leisurely pursuit. The Puritan ministers of the north saw themselves not only as spiritual leaders, but also as the sole source of intellectual authority for their flock, with intellectual endeavors needing to be heavily grounded in the spiritual realm. In reality, these Puritan pastors did not believe there was a large amount of intellectual material that could be entrusted to the average parishioner (Hurst, 1890). Only one REV. THOMAS BRAY AND PARISH LIBRARIES 9 parish library was founded throughout New England, and Puritans did not establish it. Rather, it was the Bibliotheca Bostonia in Boston, founded by none other than Rev. Thomas Bray, himself.

To the extent that there is a relationship between who founded a library and the larger purpose of the institution, Keys (1938) notes the following:

The owners of the libraries in the southern colonies were ministers, members of the professional classes, and to a considerable extent, the landed aristocrats. Similarly, these libraries reflect the traditional culture of the southern gentleman, that of a transplanted loyal British subject. (pp. 373-374)

Since Anglican ministers did not view themselves as the sole source of intellectual authority, it was much more acceptable for them to give parishioners freedom of choice in what to read. Furthermore, as landed gentry they were comfortable with a culture that valued pursuit of knowledge for leisurely gain. Lastly, as members of a professional class, they understood the need for libraries to make available practical and useful materials in applied science, medicine and law needed by a burgeoning professional class. Parish libraries of the colonial south reflected all three of these three realities.

Theological Underpinnings: Two Great Missionary Efforts

Rev. Bray is best known for founding two missionary societies, one based in England and one founded to make imprints on English colonies. Both had great impacts on the development of libraries on either side of the Atlantic. In England, the Society for the Promotion of Christian

Knowledge became a funding arm to raise money for clerical libraries in England and the New

World. It was so successful, that when Rev. Bray returned to England from the colonial south in

1700, he founded the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, which along with engaging in greater colonial missionary efforts, raised money for the parish libraries of the

American south. REV. THOMAS BRAY AND PARISH LIBRARIES 10

Overseas missionary zeal was not the sole reason for the establishment of these two societies. While Rev. Bray was interested in spreading the Gospel in the New World, there was also a desire to stop the encroachment of other religions–particularly Quakerism–and a rising tide of atheism (McCulloch, 1945c). He could only achieve this by preaching a form of

Christianity that was both dynamic and practical. Much of the practicality lay in the founding of parish libraries.

Shortly after holding its first meeting in 1699, the Society for the Promotion of Christian

Knowledge took up its charge of circulating books and founding libraries in England and the

New World. In a practical sense, ministers needed the books in order to do their jobs of spreading the gospel, and dispelling the growth of other religions. In the case of the English colonies, there was also a practical sense that the provision of libraries could be seen as an incentive for clergy to re-locate to places deemed unattractive. Much was expected from the missionary agents sent to the New World, and detailed instructions were given to them regarding their work. In exchange for agreeing to passage to the colonies, missionary clergymen were promised a sum of money for purchase of books authorized by Bray himself.

Anglican Protestants already living in Maryland “believed that better results could be achieved in promoting the spread of Anglicanism if the affairs of the clergy were under the supervision of one capable man” (Houlette, 1934, pp. 591). When Rev. Bray was selected to be the commissary to manage ecclesiastical affairs in Maryland, he did so under the condition that the Bishop of London would provide parochial libraries for ministers sent to the colonies. Bray arrived in Maryland in March 1700 and spent only six months on colonial soil. Along with him came a long list rules and regulations related to the books, many of which were later codified into English law via the Parochial Libraries Act. REV. THOMAS BRAY AND PARISH LIBRARIES 11

Bray worked tirelessly for the 1709 passage of the Parochial Libraries Act, the first piece of library legislation in the United Kingdom (Gray & Baggs, 2000), and it is indeed one long- lasting result of his missionary efforts. With a few minor amendments, this act still governs parochial libraries established for ministers of the in Great Britain. It outlines responsibilities related to who is given permission to use the libraries, how books are cataloged, what happens upon the death of a clergyman assigned responsibility related to a particular parish, and under what circumstances it is allowable to remove books from the premises.

A collection of letters written by Anglican clergy in South Carolina sheds particular light on the relationship between the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts and local colonial government once the provincial legislature established the Church of England as the state church of the province in 1706 (Rogers, ca. 1696-1775).

Among other duties, these ministers–many of whom had at least part of their salaries paid for by the provincial legislature–were responsible for supervising schools and libraries. Many of the letters written back to England took note of the state of the library in the parish the missionary was assigned to. In one letter, Rev. Samuel Thomas reports to a benefactor in

London. He acknowledges the importance of Rev. Bray’s work, observes the culture of the parish, and sheds light on the mechanics of order and purchase of books (Rogers, ca. 1696-

1775):

Thanks to Dr. Bray for care to Libraries. People here more concerned with getting money than with Books and learning. Burnt Library at St. Augustine worth £600. (Greek and Latin Fathers and Holy Bible in Latin) Done by order of Col. Daniel, one of Lord’s Deputies and of the Council here.

Mr. Trott (to whom paid the Guinea) has promised to send you a catalogue by the first ship to London. Lent him the one you sent as a specimen for our churches. (p. 28)

REV. THOMAS BRAY AND PARISH LIBRARIES 12

Rev. Bray himself wrote and circulated publications related to the operations of colonial libraries (Thomas Bray Club, 1709). Collections were to be housed in a large and fixed room, as a mark of importance. They were to be cataloged, and copies sent to the Lord Bishop of London and Anglican commissary of the province, along with the local parish clergy and vestry. Bray left simple instructions regarding how books should be labeled, and required the commissary to visit and inspect each parish library at least once every three years. He also requested the parish minister make good, to the best of his ability, for lost or stolen books. On acquisitions, Bray

(1709) wrote:

THAT a Catalogue being made of what particular Books shall be judged most immediately and necessarily Useful for a Parochial Minister, wherewith he may be sufficiently enabled both to Inform himself, and to Instruct others, in all the Necessary and Essential Parts of Christianity. (pp. 2-3)

It should be noted that the establishment and support of libraries did not in totality represent Rev. Bray’s plan for missionary endeavors in the colonial south. Although he spent only six months in Maryland, he was deeply affected by his time there (McCulloch, 1945b). The support he received from the English for establishing libraries in the New World was strong.

Some of the ideas he returned to England with were met with resistance, as he competed with others who felt it was more important to allot resources to building Anglican seminaries in the colonies. From his short time in Maryland, Bray became concerned with evangelizing two populations: the American Indian, and the plantation slave. He sent forth ideas related to the conversion of Indians that emphasized setting up schools to teach industrial and religious education, alongside elders in the tribe. He advocated raising money for land grants to Indians.

He believed clergy assigned to work with Indians should learn their languages.

With respect to the conversion of slaves, he thought only the best of missionary clergy should take on the endeavor. He believed English ministers with an interest in such an REV. THOMAS BRAY AND PARISH LIBRARIES 13 assignment should have a year’s worth of training before leaving for the New World, because they would only be successful if they actually lived and labored alongside slaves on the plantations (Steiner, 1903).

While these ideas were met with some resistance, he did indeed lay the framework for future Christian missionary efforts in America–particularly with ideas related to the conversion of Indians through schooling, and living and working alongside neglected classes as a method of serving God.

Philosophical Influences: Frances Bacon and the Quest for “Useful Knowledge”

With the signing of the Declaration of Independence came “a great new surge of utilitarian energy in America unleashed by freedom from Britain and fed by egalitarian aspirations” (Rheinhold, 1975, p. 108). This burst of energy was directly related to a growing interest in the concept of useful knowledge, and was best reflected by the fact that while education in the first century of America remained predominately theological and classical, it was designed to mold man for the primary goal of usefulness. It is ironic that this new American impulse for pragmatism, self-knowledge and self-improvement associated with freedom actually came from the English–it is a direct application of the English philosopher Francis Bacon’s theory of a utilitarian end for knowledge. This Baconian doctrine concerned itself with the acquisition of knowledge for the public good, and promotion of positive social ends.

There is little doubt Rev. Bray himself was influenced by Francis Bacon’s utilitarian philosophical bent. In his tract An Essay Towards Promoting all Necessary and Useful

Knowledge Both Divine and Human, in all Parts of His Majesty’s Dominions, Both at Home and

Abroad (Bray & Rawlinson, 1901) he outlines the types of books considered useful to have in a parish library. Clearly for Bray, the usefulness of theological texts for ministers was rooted in REV. THOMAS BRAY AND PARISH LIBRARIES 14 the need to have materials for the purpose of professional function–these books were first and foremost useful to the clergy. Yet in the list of types of books that should be made available in parish libraries Bray accounted for medical, mathematical and law tracts. He considered history, travel and geography books useful as well. Bray (Bray & Rawlinson, 1901) himself wrote:

Nor will the other parts of Knowledge I propose to promote by the following kind of Libraries, be Unuseful. From History we can take a noble view of all Mankind; and by our Observations from thence of the different Fates of Men, and their Causes, we may form to our selves most excellent Rules for the Conduct of Human Life. Travels discover the Commodities of Foreign Countries, to the great Enriching of our own; and not only Merchants, but all Persons besides, by reading the Accounts of so many Nations of Men in the World, sunk down to the lowness of Brutes for want of Knowledge, may see Infinite Reason to bless that God, who by an admirable Religion enlightening our Minds, has rais’d us above Animal Life; and so vastly distinguishes us from the Barbarous part of Mankind. What shall I say? (p. 54)

Evident here is that for Bray the concept of useful knowledge for utilitarian ends began to take two paths–a finite, practical end related to professional development, and a leisurely, recreational end designed to create the type of well-rounded citizenry necessary for service to family and country. All within the context of service to God.

Stories From This Side of the Atlantic

What is perhaps most interesting about the collection of parish libraries in the colonial south, is that much like the Bray libraries of England and Wales, some became fixed collections for parishioners needing books in no way related to spiritual matters. In other cases these collections became actual lending libraries for these parishioners, or the community-at large. In two fascinating cases, these libraries became the first provincial libraries of the American south.

In South Carolina, the library sent to a minister in Charleston was regulated by what was most likely the first colonial library law (Korty, 1967). The history of that library is fascinating.

A large sum of money was raised for it, and 225 books purchased (Spain, 1947). Even before all REV. THOMAS BRAY AND PARISH LIBRARIES 15 the money had been raised, a confident minister took up his duties in Charleston and brought the first donation of books with him. The South Carolina Assembly was so grateful for the donation that it became the only provincial assembly to appropriate public funds toward the support of a library. Additionally, a bill "To Secure the Provincial Library at Charles Town in Carolina" became a law of the colony on November 16, 1700 and the semipublic nature of that library was enshrined. This colonial law contained striking similarities to the essays Bray wrote himself, and the English Parochial Libraries Act of 1709. The law lay down rules related to which books were to be preserved, and how the library was to function. A commission was appointed for purposes of oversight and visitation. The minister to the parish where Charleston was located was required to give the commissioners a receipt for the books, and to answer to questions of damage and theft. Seven catalogues had to be compiled, including one for the Bishop of

London and one for Rev. Bray himself.

In what was probably the first colonial library law, state control and religious influence worked together in allowing colonists access to books before the social library movement took hold.

The most important of the Maryland Bray libraries was that at Annapolis, established by members of the royal family and designated as a provincial library and kept in the State House until a fire in 1704 (Houlette, 1934). A portion of the collection survived the fire, and was ultimately moved to St. John’s College. As a provincial library, the books were for circulation beyond the confines of parish membership, but still overseen by an Anglican cleric.

An interesting story reflects just how much influence Rev. Bray’s ideas about care of libraries had in the case of Annapolis. When several volumes were discovered lost during an inventory made at the request of the provincial governor, the assembly asked for the sheriff’s REV. THOMAS BRAY AND PARISH LIBRARIES 16 assistance in returning the books to the rector of St. Anne’s Parish, who was the assigned librarian.

On the other hand, unlike in South Carolina, public funds were not made available to the

Annapolis library. Although the provincial governor proposed that part of tax raised for arms be diverted for the purpose of purchasing books that could be accessed by all persons, the assembly did not did not agree.

Conclusion

The story of Rev. Thomas Bray and his parish libraries of the colonial south is important for three reasons: 1) it tells a fascinating and little known part of American history; 2) it provides an interesting lens–the story of the development of the library–through which to reflect on the larger history of a particular geographic section of America; and, 3) it gives an opportunity to see how one institution, in this case the library, was established as an expression of the particular society in which it was developed.

This story is best understood when examined alongside the history of 17th century

English and Welsh parochial libraries, and positioned within the greater tale of English colonialism.

While Rev. Bray was driven by a missionary zeal designed to spread the gospel in the New World and keep other religions from making inroads in the colonies, his libraries were founded with practical intent. Without books, ministers could not do their jobs. Without the incentive a well-stocked library provided, the best-educated clergy would not leave the comforts of England for lands unknown. He was deeply influenced by utilitarian theories of knowledge, and stocked his libraries for use by a rising professional class training in business, medicine and the law. He believed men who engaged in intellectual leisurely pursuits–including the study of REV. THOMAS BRAY AND PARISH LIBRARIES 17 history, travel and geography–were better suited to do the work of God on earth. In the end he was two things, both a clerical missionary in the business of saving souls, and a student of philosophy interested in the idea that the development of knowledge should have practical ends.

The result was libraries that both gave ministers the texts they needed to propagate the faith, and gave parishioners practical and useful books that the burgeoning, southern gentry needed to support professional development.

A most important point of analysis juxtaposes the nature of libraries in colonial New

England, to the Bray libraries of the American south. Two conclusions are evident: 1) that it was acceptable for Anglican minsters to make secular texts available to congregants through the establishment of libraries, because unlike Puritan clergy of New England, they fundamentally saw themselves as spiritual leaders, but not the sole source of intellectual authority; and, 2) that because New England was settled with a fundamentally anti-British sentiment, the reproduction of English life was non-existent, including characteristics associated with a gentry class interested in pursuing knowledge for practical ends and leisurely pursuit.

As a result, the story of the Bray libraries of the colonial south is really one where theology and practical philosophy met on fertile cultural ground, which is really what enabled the history to unfold in the manner it did. And as Bray libraries became provincial libraries both regulated by government but also maintaining clerical ties, the story is an example of religion, the secular quest for knowledge and the beginnings of government oversight all working together in fluid manners through one example–that of the library.

After Bray’s death, interest in the libraries he founded in England and the colonies died out. In the case of the colonial south, no provisions were made for the addition of books to the libraries, and the settlers took little interest in maintaining the libraries at their own expense REV. THOMAS BRAY AND PARISH LIBRARIES 18

(Steiner, 1896). As books wore out, the libraries became antiquated and day-to-day usefulness was lost for clergy and the lay, alike. Bray may have been ahead of his time to the extent that fundamentally, he was a foreigner using the resources of a colonial power to further his own agenda. Without a more firmly planted system representative of the self-identified interests of the colonists, there was no on-going sense of ownership. Without a sense of ownership, there was no enduring infrastructure.

There is little doubt concerning the immediate success of Rev. Bray’s efforts in establishing libraries in the colonial south. Within a few years after his departure from Maryland in 1700, there were 31 parish libraries in that state alone (Smith & Todd, 1808). One of his greatest achievements in connection with the dissemination of books was the establishment of provincial libraries authorized and regulated by colonial state assemblies. Yet despite a certain amount of congruence between Bray’s methods and the cultural landscape of the American south circa 1700, he built a movement on too narrow foundations. A movement that in the end, might have been more successful if it had started later, when clergy trained on American soil with a greater personal and professional stake might have been better able to weave it into the post-

Revolutionary cultural landscape.

REV. THOMAS BRAY AND PARISH LIBRARIES 19

References

Bray, T., & Rawlinson, R. (1901). Rev. Thomas Bray: His life and selected works relating to

Maryland Printed by J. Murphy Co.

Frohnsdorff, G. (2003). " Before the public": Some early libraries of Antigua. Libraries &

Culture, 38(1), 1-23.

Gray, S. & Baggs, C. (2000). The English parish library: A celebration of diversity. Libraries &

Culture, 414-433.

Houlette, W. D. (1934). Parish libraries and the work of Reverend Thomas Bray. The Library

Quarterly, 588-609.

Hurst, J. F. (1890). Parochial libraries in the colonial period. Papers of the American Society of

Church History, 2(1), 37-50

Kabir, A. M. F. (1979). English libraries in eighteenth-century Bengal. The Journal of Library

History (1974-1987), 14(4), 436-456.

Keys, T. E. (1938). The colonial library and the development of sectional differences in the

American colonies. The Library Quarterly, 8(3), 373-390.

Korty, M. B. (1967). Franklin's world of books. The Journal of Library History, 2(4), 271-328.

Laugher, C. T. (1973). Thomas Bray's grand design: Libraries of the Church of England in

America, 1695-1785 American Library Association.

Manley, K. (1999). Rural reading in northwest England: The Sedbergh book club, 1728-1928.

Book History, 2(1), 78-95.

McCulloch, S. C. (1945a). Dr. Thomas Bray's commissary work in London, 1696-1699. The

William and Mary Quarterly, 2(4), 334-348. REV. THOMAS BRAY AND PARISH LIBRARIES 20

McCulloch, S. C. (1945b). Dr. Thomas Bray's trip to Maryland: A study in militant Anglican

humanitarianism. The William and Mary Quarterly, 2(1), 15-32.

McCulloch, S. C. (1945c). The foundation and early work of the Society for the Propagation of

the Gospel in Foreign Parts. Huntington Library Quarterly, 8(3), 241-258.

Rheinhold, M. (1975). The quest for “useful knowledge” in eighteenth century America.

Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, 119(2), 108-132.

Rogers Jr, G. C. [ca. 1696-1775]. Letters from the clergy of the Anglican church in South

Carolina.

Smith, S. & Todd, H. J. (1808). Publick spirit illustrated in the life and designs of the Reverend

Thomas Bray:... to which are added the designs and proceedings of those who now form

the society which he instituted, and other illustrations Printed for FC and J. Rivington... by

TC Hansard.

Spain, F. L. (1947). Libraries of South Carolina: Their origins and early history, 1700-1830. The

Library Quarterly, 17(1), 28-42.

Steiner, B.C. (1896). Rev. Thomas Bray and his American libraries. The American Historical

Review, 2(1), 59-75.

Steiner, B. C. (1903). Two eighteenth century missionary plans. The Sewanee Review, 11(3),

289-305.

Thomas Bray Club. (1701). Thomas Bray publications: Proposals for the encouragement and

promoting of religion and learning in the foreign plantations.